Was Anyone Else Even Remotely Aware of This?

[Swagger]

I thought about putting this in the Science & Technology forum but after factoring in the sacrifice and sheer mental endurance I felt it deserved a broader audience. I didn't know about the experiment's existence until today.

Fascinating would be an understatement, in my opinion. Anyway, see for yourselves:

Six men locked away in steel tubes for a year-and-a-half to simulate a mission to Mars have emerged from isolation.

The Mars500 project, undertaken at a Moscow institute, was intended to find out how the human mind and body would cope on a long-duration spaceflight.

It is a venture that has fascinated all who have followed it around the globe.

The study even saw three of the men carry out a pretend landing on Mars, donning real spacesuits and walking across an enclosed sandy yard.

The crew has comprised a trio of Russians (Alexey Sitev, Alexandr Smoleevskiy and Sukhrob Kamolov), two Europeans (Romain Charles and Diego Urbina), and a Chinese national, Wang Yue.

Simulated Mars Mission - BBC

 

[uscitizen]

Many of todays youth would be fine for the long confinement as long as they had plenty of computer games, Cheetos and Mt. Dew.

 

[Mr. H.]

We did that when we were kids. Only we used a refrigerator packing carton. The fun lasted maybe an hour. We didn't have video games back then but we did have Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

 

[blastoff]

I was aware but had totally forgotten about it until now.

Reading the linked article I recalled feeling the same as when I had first read about this project, that it wasn't going to be able to address a major concern of doctors, scientists, etc. And that is what the effects of all that time in weightlessness would have on their bodies, specifically bone density. That was the chief concern of experts expressed in yet another story about a Mars journey a few years ago in National Geographic. They know from people who've spent extended periods of time aboard the International Space Station that even with rigorous workout activity they still suffer enough bone density loss to raise concerns about how much more loss would occur as a result of the duration of a Mars trip. At the time of the NG story - maybe 8-10 years ago - it was a real concern, but perhaps by now they've figured something out.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

they had access to Internet porn, right?

 

[konradv]

they had access to Internet porn, right?

Better than that! They had interstellar porn. You don't know what you're missing until you've gone green!!!

 

[CrusaderFrank]

they had access to Internet porn, right?

Better than that! They had interstellar porn. You don't know what you're missing until you've gone green!!!

I'd posrep you again for that!

 

[Harry Dresden]

they had access to Internet porn, right?

Better than that! They had interstellar porn. You don't know what you're missing until you've gone green!!!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwOKjWpTnwY&feature=related]Orion Slave Girls Dance - YouTube[/ame]

 

[konradv]

they had access to Internet porn, right?

Better than that! They had interstellar porn. You don't know what you're missing until you've gone green!!!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwOKjWpTnwY&feature=related]Orion Slave Girls Dance - YouTube[/ame]

Great clip! I was thinking Uhuru's room mate in the new Star Trek movie. Yowza!!!